05 Lift questions

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randymorris

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LOL here we go again, 5 inch with 8 inch wide wheel, unless you want to limit your travel in the rear. 8 inches wide, 5 inches of bumpstop you can pretty much stuff, 4.5 inches of backspacing is enough you have to run at the very least an inch possibly two more inches of bumpstop , just one of the reasons, not sure why people keep going back to 4.5 inches , plus puts tire/ wheel out there far enough to throw more junk up the sides of the KJ

I was only asking because the 4.5” of backspace cut quite a bit off the price. 5” is what I’ll look for for an 8” wheel
 

JasonJ

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22.5 and you are getting right there where you will have the UCAs ( yes even with JBAs ) rubbing against the coil springs on every bump
One of the reasons I like to stay at 2.5-3 anymore, had enough of it on the 04 until I went JBA coilovers

At 22, 22 1/4", I've got a good half inch of clearance with the front suspension at full drop, right now. I think you're spot on, 22.5" is really about as high as you'd want to stretch that.

My plan here is to put a good 1000 miles or so on everything, re-measure and do clevis lift on front to bring it back to 22 1/4" or thereabouts. Hoping the rear stays put.

Hey Tom... let me ask, since 3 out of 4 LCA nuts were seized, my caster is out, camber is in spec, but on the outer limits, toe, total toe, et al is all good. It drives and steers great, better than it ever has. Is that worth hassling about to replace the lower bolts, possibly the entire LCA if I melt the bushings and muck it all up?

Or just leave it be?
 

randymorris

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I remeasured today after driving for a couple hundred miles, and I’m at 21.5” all around now. I assume it just needed to settle after I lifted the front of the vehicle.

Also, I spoke to Discount tire today, and they said the stock backspacing for my Liberty was 5.625”. Did different liberty’s have different backspacing for the wheels?
 

tommudd

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I remeasured today after driving for a couple hundred miles, and I’m at 21.5” all around now. I assume it just needed to settle after I lifted the front of the vehicle.

Also, I spoke to Discount tire today, and they said the stock backspacing for my Liberty was 5.625”. Did different liberty’s have different backspacing for the wheels?

5.625 would have the wheel rubbing into the spindle
 

randymorris

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5.625 would have the wheel rubbing into the spindle

I wonder why Discounts computer is showing that as stock offset. I’ve decided on 16x7 wheels with 4 inches of backspacing, just saving up the money for them at this point. Can’t afford the MOABs I’ve found, because they would end up close to $600 after mounting. I did find the ones I want, decent looking black steel wheels.
 

JasonJ

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I wonder why Discounts computer is showing that as stock offset. I’ve decided on 16x7 wheels with 4 inches of backspacing, just saving up the money for them at this point. Can’t afford the MOABs I’ve found, because they would end up close to $600 after mounting. I did find the ones I want, decent looking black steel wheels.

Nice thing about steel wheels is if they ever get bent, you can often just grab a hammer and pound them back to shape.

I got a set of 4 moabs from an 03 TJR for $175 from local craigslist.. I had to drive like 100 miles round trip for them, and one has a chip in the outer lip (not where the bead sits), so I feel it was worth it, although I'm still looking for one more undamaged one.

DT has the factory backspacing ALL sorts of wrong. 16x7 at 4" is factory, I believe. So your new wheels will be fine.
 
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tommudd

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Factory is 5 inches of backspacing , just like Moabs are
but the 7 inch wide, 4 inches of backspacing sits the tire/wheel combo right at the edge of the flare
 

randymorris

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After a slight hiccup in the truck, losing a caliper bolt while driving, I have to say I love the way this truck feels now. The only two issues I’m having is that I’m still rubbing up front on the bumper and the inner fender and it definitely is more sluggish than I want. I can fix the sluggish feel by regearing I’m sure, I just can’t afford that while paying for a wedding, so I’ll live with it for now until I can afford the parts ($1000 from JBA shipped, not sure on labor, but I assume about another $1000). The rubbing, though, I’m not sure how I can fix that without going higher, and I definitely don’t want to buy more parts at the moment. The only thing I can see is cutting away at the inner fender and the bottom of the bumper, or going down to slightly smaller tires, which is also too much money at the moment. Anything you might recommend for the rubbing?
 

tommudd

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After a slight hiccup in the truck, losing a caliper bolt while driving, I have to say I love the way this truck feels now. The only two issues I’m having is that I’m still rubbing up front on the bumper and the inner fender and it definitely is more sluggish than I want. I can fix the sluggish feel by regearing I’m sure, I just can’t afford that while paying for a wedding, so I’ll live with it for now until I can afford the parts ($1000 from JBA shipped, not sure on labor, but I assume about another $1000). The rubbing, though, I’m not sure how I can fix that without going higher, and I definitely don’t want to buy more parts at the moment. The only thing I can see is cutting away at the inner fender and the bottom of the bumper, or going down to slightly smaller tires, which is also too much money at the moment. Anything you might recommend for the rubbing?
4.10 gearing came in 4 cylinder gasser models , have done 6-8 of them that way, swap front and rear diff in an afternoon and done, makes a huge difference
As far as rubbing, just in the front of the wheelwell ? If so , heat gun, heat the plastic and gently reshape it so it doesn't rub
 

randymorris

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I went looking for the 4.10 axles today and could only find the rear, not the front axle. When I have the money I will look for axles again, but otherwise I assume my only other option is ordering the parts from jba.

As for the heat gun, I don’t know why I didn’t think of that. Yeah, just rubbing on some of the plastic in front of the wheel. Thank you sir!
 

randymorris

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Just an update. I was able to get a set of Moabs off a wrangler, and they fixed my hitting the UCAs so I was able to remove all spacers now. I also was able to replace my two coopers so now I have falken wildpeaks all around, except the spare. I am hearing a pop on my drivers side when I hit bumps though, so I need to trace that down when I get back from New York City. Works been too busy to look into before now, but I should have time after I get back. I’ll just have to deal with the summer heat here.
 

JasonJ

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Just an update. I was able to get a set of Moabs off a wrangler, and they fixed my hitting the UCAs so I was able to remove all spacers now. I also was able to replace my two coopers so now I have falken wildpeaks all around, except the spare. I am hearing a pop on my drivers side when I hit bumps though, so I need to trace that down when I get back from New York City. Works been too busy to look into before now, but I should have time after I get back. I’ll just have to deal with the summer heat here.

Look closely at the front stabilizer/sway bar bushings and end links... they often cause that sort of noise. Of course also that all other suspension fasteners are tight.
 

randymorris

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Look closely at the front stabilizer/sway bar bushings and end links... they often cause that sort of noise. Of course also that all other suspension fasteners are tight.
I will take a look at the sway bar links and bushings. Those are one of the two components I didn’t replace yet, the other being lower control arm. I’m gonna miss this weather in New York when I get back to Phoenix and spend time outside under my truck looking for the problem!
 

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